Here's a tip for adding weight in your bed for winter driving. Keep the sandbags, cinderblocks or whatever as far back as possible. It drives me nuts to see guys go to the trouble of building a frame to hold their weight precisely over the rear axle. Remember weight, the force acting down on the tires, is good but mass, the stuff you have to accelerate, decelerate, lift up hills and prevent from pushing you down hills, is bad. You can maximize the down force on your rear (drive) wheels and minimize the mass required by shifting it to the tailgate. In my 1994 F150 I can achieve 400 lbs. on the rear axle by placing 300 lbs. in the bed tight against the tailgate. Of course this lightens the front axle by 100 lbs.

I get another 200 lbs. with both fuel tanks full. This has the added benefit of reducing the possibility of water condensing in my tanks.

Just my $0.02

 

What with most of the braking and all of the steering being done by the front wheels, taking 100 lbs. off them can come back to bite you very quickly! Not being able to get going is aggravating, but not being able to stop is expensive!

I put about 300 lbs. near the front of my (8') bed and with studded snow tires, my 2wd goes anywhere I want it to. No, I don't go rock climbing, or offroading, a gravel driveway is about the extent of my "roughing it". Don't know if studs are legal in your part of the world, but if they are, they certainly make a lot of difference!

Flagship

 

Just a thought and not an origenal one at that. When it's slick slow down!

 

mradclif

But really, how much snow do you get in Richmond VA. An inch at a time.

 

I have a 2wd and what I have found out is this and it is true with all cars and trucks

DO ONE THING AT A TIME

for example when driving at 40 or 50 mph and there is snow on the ground when you have to turn you press on the brake but dont turn the wheel just slow down and then let go of the brake and let the truck turn, when the wheel is stright then press on the gas

so dont turn the wheel and press the gas or the brake at the same time that is how you lose control

unless you are having fun drifting in the snow but only if you are carefull

 

Im not saying your right or wrong, I think its just a personal choice.


You see, You are 100% right in saying that putting all your weight behind the rear axle causes more down force. How ever, If you ever start to slide or begin to lose it in a curve, all the weight behind the rear axle will act like a pendulum and pull the rear around.


Keeping weight as far back as possible is better for getting traction, but keeping the weight between the front and rear axles is better for handling.

 

does anyone know if stock wheels off 97 150 4x4 will fit on 94 f150 2x4?